THE Acting Minister of Defense of Lebanon Maurice Slim is safe after the vehicle he was riding in was shot todaythe interior minister said, without it being clear yet whether it was an attack or stray bullets.

Slim was riding in his car in the Jisr al-Basra neighborhood on the southeastern edge of the capital Beirut this afternoon when bullets hit a car window, a security source and a political source said.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told reporters that security services were investigating the incident to determine whether it was a targeted attack or stray bullets.

“In any case, we thank God for the safety of the defense minister,” Maulawi said.

Another security source told Reuters the bullets were stray and denied there was an attempt on Slim’s life.

The incident came as the country’s army deployed to a mountainous Christian village southeast of Beirut following a deadly exchange of gunfire between residents and members of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.